Memory
by RandomNerdyGirl
Summary: Memory is a strange thing… Why is it that we so easily forget the good things that happen to us, and usually remember the bad? But sometimes everything can be forgotten, just by a simple bump on the head… That is exactly what happened to Katniss Everdeen in the 74th Hunger Games… Will it destroy or make her future? Will she ever remember those that are important to her? EverLark.
1. Chapter 1

**Memory**

**Summary**: Memory is a strange thing… Why is it that we so easily forget the good things that happen to us, but usually remember the bad? But sometimes everything can be forgotten, just by a simple bump on the head… That is exactly what happened to Katniss Everdeen in the 74th Hunger Games… Forgetting even the smallest detail of the Games is a crucial mistake. (Set during Katniss' first Games)

* * *

It was a normal day in the arena , well as normal as a day in the arena can be…There had been the occasional death, Careers planned and plotted for their next kill, some tribute was slowly dying from hunger, and of course someone hid somewhere. It happened right after Rue's death, and only six tributes were left. Katniss wandered around; she has just put the flowers around Rue's body. The sun has almost disappeared , and the first, few stars shone brightly. She was careless, and because she wasn't silent or sneaky then, unfortunately someone saw her. He came out of nowhere, and hit her against the head with a huge rock. Then Cato ran away again, for he didn't want to kill her just yet. No, that would make it too easy. A Career wanted a challenge if he was this far into the Games. The impact of the hit was strong, and Katniss fell unconscious. And just before the darkness engulfed her, she let out a scream of fear and surprise…

* * *

Peeta admired the stars as he laid camouflaged between rocks and grass, and started to drift into a dreamless sleep. Just before he was entirely asleep, he heard a scream, not too far from where he was resting. "Probably some kid being tortured by a Career" he thought. "But wait! I know that voice… Was that… Katniss?!" The blonde sprang up (despite his injured leg) and ran (or hobbled) into the direction from where the sound came from, because he cared so much for that girl. It wasn't long before he accidentally tripped over something, or someone, actually. "What the heck?" Peeta thought out loud. He turned around slowly, and what he saw, made his heart break; for Katniss laid there, unconscious, while blood streamed from her head.

* * *

It took most of the night to find a safe place to rest, because Peeta's leg wound slowed him down quite a bit, and hauling a girl along wasn't really helping. When he did find a place, which was a cave, he laid Katniss down gently, and sat down on a rock. He was exhausted, but he couldn't rest, because he had to try to get the girl awake. He didn't want to attempt that when he found her, he would make too much noise out in the open like that. He started by gently shaking her, calling her name. When that didn't work he pinched her, shouted, shaking her very hard. He realized he was failing and went to the little stream nearby and filled Katniss' water bottle with water (she still had her and Rue's backpacks with her when she was knocked out). Then when he got back, he poured the ice-cold water over her. That finally got a reaction out of her! She started moaning how cold she was and Peeta's heart started to race. He ran to her side, grabbed her hands and called her name until her eyes started to open. When she saw him, a look of bewilderment and confusion crossed her face. "How are you feeling Katniss?" Peeta questioned. Her response made Peeta's blood run cold: "Who are YOU? Where am I? And who's this Katniss you speak of?"

* * *

**A/N: Hello my people! If you took the time to read this, I thank you! Please leave a review, so that I can improve this story. I know this is a bit short, but hey, this is only the opening chapter. I will try to make the next chapters longer. But please tell me what you think! Thanks so much, and if you have ideas, tell me in a PM or review! **

** P.S: Please excuse me if there are any mistakes that I missed while proofreading!**

**R :P**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's Chapter 2! Enjoy! Excuse any mistakes on grammar or spelling, and PLEASE review! Peeta would want you to ;)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own THG or any of its characters!**

Chapter 2

"Katniss? You're kidding right? It's me, Peeta… We are in a cave; I brought you here so we could be safe from Careers. I found you in a clearing in the woods. What do you remember?"

Peeta was utterly, completely terrified…. He didn't know what to do! What if she didn't even remember the day he gave her the burnt bread?

"Peter?" She snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Peeta, not Peter .Do you remember me Katniss?" Peeta asked worried.

"No, I don't… Why are we in a cave? Why are we near woods?"

"We were reaped for the Games, remember? You volunteered for your sister, Prim. We are currently in the Arena, fighting for our lives…"

"I have a sister? How old is she? What are the Games? "

Peeta grabbed her hands, his eyes full of tears. He looked straight into her beautiful grey eyes, and saw no emotion except confusion. He started to cry, because he was devastated. How does one person explain another's whole life to them? He looked at their entwined hands, and a thought popped into his head:" Why is she holding my hand if she doesn't even remember me anymore? She will only hold it if she trusts me, and Katniss doesn't trust anyone so easily."

"Katniss, do you trust me?"

"Yes… I can see in your eyes that I can trust you."

Peeta was shocked, and looked outside. It was raining, the raindrops coming down hard onto the ground. He looked back into her eyes, while his own still shone with tears, and saw that she was looking expectantly, for he hasn't answered her previous questions.

"Oh right, your sister and the Games! Well, her name is Primrose, but everyone calls her Prim. She is 12 years old, and you love her more than anyone else. You always try to protect her, no matter what. And you did that a few weeks ago, the consequence being thrown into The Hunger Games, where 24 children have to fight to the death, until one lone victor remains. We are part of six tributes remaining…" Peeta explained, always looking into her eyes.

"How do they choose who fights? What happens to those who die? Where do we get weapons?" She asked, and Peeta explained everything to her about the Games. When she was finished asking questions, Peeta wondered if he should tell her about her deceased father, or her depressed mother. He decided against it, because he thought there had been enough drama for one day.

While he thought, he noticed the sun coming up slowly, and then he started to worry about food. How was he supposed to get food with his injured leg? Water wasn't a problem, since a stream was nearby. He looked back at his crush, and noticed for the first time how dirty they both were.

"Katniss? Can you stand up?"

"I can try" came her weary reply," But you have to help me please."

"Of course!" He himself struggled to stand up for about five minutes, but finally succeeded. He then gently took her hands again, for he let them go while explaining. They both counted to three, and he started pulling her up. When she was standing, she asked him to let go, so she could see if she could stand on her own. Luckily she could, and then she inquired why he wanted her to do this.

"I think it would be best if we go to the stream and get water, as well as refresh ourselves a bit. Is that okay?"

"Its fine, I just want to ask something… Is my head wound bad?"

"It was, but I cleaned it with some water before you regained consciousness. "

They started walking slowly towards the stream, Pieta's leg slowing them down only slightly.

"We have to be as silent as possible, unless we want someone trying to kill us…" Peeta informed her. She nodded her head in agreement.

When they reached the stream, Peeta took Katniss' water bottle (he brought it along) and filled it with water. When he was finished, he put it down.

"Well, unless you want to see me in my underwear, you can look away. Or also strip down..." Peeta joked.

"Well, you won't be entirely naked, so I think I will survive" She joked back.

Peeta chuckled, and started removing his clothes, and walked into the stream with his underwear and Katniss did the same. He started splashing her, and she soon started splashing back. Even when she had no memory of him, and they were in a place where they could be killed any moment, they started to enjoy themselves. Katniss' head was throbbing, but she would survive the damage. But the injury still was a disadvantage, and Peeta worried about it. Obviously the medicine for burn wounds that Katniss received wouldn't heal it, and while they were swimming and washing, Peeta thought of something. If he pulled something off that would impress sponsors, Haymitch would hopefully send medicine. But he had no idea what he could do to impress them that much needed. He soon got distracted by his thoughts, and Katniss sneaked up on him and tackled him. He fell over into the water, and as soon as he got up again he grabbed her. He looked into her mesmerizing eyes and suddenly knew what he had to do. He quickly leaned in and kissed her sweetly and softly.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** **C'mon! 2 Reviews ? That all? You know we can do better than that! Please Review, and give me suggestions! I really want to know your opinion! Thanks :D**

Chapter 3

"Peeta!?'

"I'm.. s..so..rry" Peeta stutters as he backs away.

He was so embarrassed, but kind of happy and awestruck at the same time. Embarrassed because he just kissed his lifelong crush on national television, happy because he just DID kiss her, and awestruck because she didn't push him away, because isn't that what Katniss would do? But then again, she doesn't remember who she used to be… Peeta starts pulling his pants on as she comes rushing out of the water. She wasn't angry, just dumbstruck, because she did not see that coming!

"Let's get back to the cave…" Peeta suggested, trying to hide his emotions, but fails miserably.

"Sure, did you get water?"

"Mhhmmm"

They start hiking back to their little shelter, when suddenly they hear voices... And not just anyone's voices, but Careers' voices. Peeta hears them first, realizes who it is, and grabs Katniss, running as fast as he can manage with a bad leg ,back to the stream.

"Don't go back there, Peeta!" Katniss whispers frantically.

"I have a plan, just be quiet and do everything I tell you to do!" Peeta replies.

They reach it in a few seconds, as they didn't walked far. He quickly puts her in a ditch near the water, starting to throw nearby leaves and dirt on her, smearing mud on her face, rubbing leaves, twigs and mud into her hair, until she was completely camouflaged.

"Don't move, close your eyes, breath slowly, don't make a sound and stay here until I come and get you!" Peeta tells her quickly, and starts limping/running towards the water.

He goes in slowly, as to make as little sound as possible, and when deep enough lets only his eyes peer over the water, towards the direction of the woods. The Careers weren't too far from where they walked, but just far enough not to spot them. Just as he was in a good position to see enough, Cato and Clove came bursting through the woods. Peeta then quickly takes a gulp of air, and retracts his head into the icy water.

"I'm sure I heard someone here, didn't you Cato"

"I think I did too Clove, but it couldn't be Loverboy… He's probably laying somewhere, bleeding slowly to death from that gash I gave him…"

"And the Girl on Fire?"

"I told you, she should be laying unconscious from the hit I gave her! I don't understand why we can't find her!"

"What if you didn't hit her hard enough Cato! What if she woke up!"

"I promise you, that blow would keep a person knocked out for a while!"

"Whatever Cato! Let's get back to the Cornucopia, I'm tired"

As they leave Peeta comes up out of the water, very relieved that he is still alive. While the two killers were arguing, he swam to a big rock where he could see the arguing tributes, without him being seen. He quickly gets out of the stream, and rushes over to where he left Katniss.

"Katniss they're gone! You can get up now!" Peeta whispers in her ear,

Her eyes fly open, greeted with magnificent blue ones, and she requests that he carries her back, as she was exhausted from angst and swimming. He nods with understanding, picks her up, and starts walking back. Just as they almost enter the cave, Katniss says something that makes Peeta's heart fill with hope:

"You saved my life today, but this wasn't the first time, was it? You've saved me before,"

**A/N:**** Sorry it's so short, but I have lack of inspiration… Once again PLEASE REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey everybody! I am so sorry for not updating for a while, but life has been H.E.C.T.I.C.. Love you all and enjoy this chapter! –R**

**Disclaimer: I SO do NOT own The Hunger Games… HAHA NO!**

"We fooled them so good!"

"Yes we did! Did you see Lover Boy in that lake?"

"Pathetic isn't it!"

"Ahhh good times"

Clove and Cato laugh maniacally, as their plan worked perfectly. You see, they actually did see the District Twelve tributes, tricking them into thinking that they were safe. Oh no, now they are anything but safe. Clove and Cato followed them back to their cave, and are now thinking about their next move, while guffawing about the 'pathetic safety they feel'.

"Don't we make a brilliant team, Cato?"

"Team…"

Cato ponders about this for a moment.

"I guess we can call it that..."

They watch the beautiful sunset, its autumn coloured rays illuminating the sky as the sun disappears bit by bit, but they don't know how to appreciate its beauty anymore. Training made them crazy, death of others they're only pleasure.

"Cato, maybe we should start to settle in for the night."

He looks at the girl, and in one sudden swift movement grabs her and starts kissing her. She kisses back, clearly enjoying this occurrence.

"Oh Katniss, you remember that?"

"It's the only thing I remember, Peeta"

They were talking about the bread that he gave her of course. Peeta's eyes glisten, tears starting to form. Not of sadness, but pure joy.

"But, how did you not recognize me when you woke up this morning?"

"The memory just resurfaced about now Peeta, but really I don't remember anything else"

"This is good! Very good! Yes…" Peeta stands up, muttering to himself and looking out of the cave. He then starts running suddenly, confusing poor Katniss very much. He's back a minute later, as Katniss was very tired from the day's events that she didn't get up to see what was going on. He holds something in his hands though, smiling widely.

"Food… Haymitch sent us food!"

He does some sort of happy dance, jumping around like a mad man. When he turns back to Katniss, he finds her fast asleep.

"Today must have tired her immensely" Peeta mutters to himself.

He puts the food down, and looks at the little card that was attached to the big basket filled with various breads, Katniss' favourite lamb stew and cheese.

"Good job. Try telling her about Gale. –H"

"Hawthorne. He wants me to tell her about that player. He is her best friend though. Yeah I think I should tell her about Gale. But what if she remembers all the wonderful moments with him and …" Peeta argues with himself.

He finally decides that he should tell her, as it is only fair. He glances at the sleeping girl, and walks over to where she is lying. He takes her hand and squeezes it, and starts to shake her. When she wakes, he makes her eat the stew and then lets her lie down so she can sleep again. He stands up from where he sat next to her and eats some of the bread and cheese, making sure to leave enough for the next morning. Tomorrow he is going to have to try to make her shoot a bit, to see if she can remember to use a bow and arrow. If she can it will be fantastic, but that isn't the most important thing to him now. No, the most important to him now is making sure she's healthy, to care for her. Then he thought of something absolutely horrible: Only one can get out of this alive. And there's still Foxface, Thresh, Cato and Clove too.

Peeta then falls to his knees and sobs. He loves her so much, he'll do anything for her survival. Yes, he never really talked to her, but he knew he loved her when he heard her sing that first day of school. He looks up to the now dark sky and prays. He prays for her safety, even though he isn't sure if there is a God out there. But he hopes that if there is, that He will answer his prayer. After this he stands up and takes a few arrows from what Katniss still had when she was knocked out, and sits in a shadow at the entrance of the cave. He can't shoot, but if someone were to come to kill them, he could at least try to throw them with an arrow. He doesn't know if he has the guts though, he doesn't know if he could do such a murderous thing. Luckily for him, no one comes and the sun greets him early that morning. He stands up and turns to the sleeping from at the back of the cave. Making sure she's asleep he leans down and whispers:

"I love you"


	5. Chapter 5

**A\N: Hey! I just want to thank each and every person that has favourited , followed or reviewed this story. It's you guys that motivate me to write. If you have any questions, suggestions or thoughts about this story, review or PM me at any time! Enjoy Chapter 5, and SO sorry for the late update!**

"I love you" Peeta whispers in her ear, certain that no other person knows how he feels at that moment. Confused, as to what to do to help her regain her memory. Fear for he has no clue when the Careers will show up again, or what they will do. Thankfulness, for the food Haymitch sent the previous evening. The list goes on and on… But the emotion that he feels the most is love. Love towards the 'Girl on Fire'.

"She certainly set my heart on fire" Peeta thinks to himself, starting to chuckle at his cheesy thought.

"Wha? Mmmmm…"

"Oh Darli… I mean Katniss your awake!"

"Mmhmm"

"How do you feel?"

"I feel as good as you can possibly feel having almost no memory of your whole life... But, let's not focus on that now. Peeta, I want to ask you something… Who am I? I know I'm Katniss Everdeen, Tribute from District 12 for the 74th Hunger Games. But, I want to know everything about ME. My personality, my relationships, my LIFE."

"Oh Katniss, of course! Let's just eat something first, and then I'll tell you everything you want to know about yourself!"

Peeta quickly fetches the food Haymitch sent the previous evening, and suddenly remembers what his mentor said.

"Great… Now I have to tell her about Hawthorne" he thinks, mentally face-palming himself.

He takes the note that came along with the basket, and shoves it into his shoe.

"Right then, here you go!" Peeta exclaims, handing her the basket.

"Where did this come from?"

"Oh right! You were fast asleep when this little package arrived! Haymitch, our mentor , sent it. Probably thought we weren't managing too well. Oh well, it's food!"

"Haymitch… Why do I think I'm supposed to despise him?" Katniss enquires, frowning.

"Well, he won the 50th Hunger Games, thus our mentor, and after his Games he became an alcoholic. Not the chirpiest person you've ever met, and you two argue immensely. Don't ask me why, personality conflict I guess." Peeta shrugs, looking into her eyes.

She notices his expression, letting her know she shouldn't ask about the 'becoming an alcoholic' part. He must have noticed her confused/curious expression when he mentioned it.

After they finished their breakfast (taking care to leave some food for later that day), Katniss looks at Peeta expectantly.

"Ok, right, now where should I begin?"

"Tell me about my family," Katniss immediately replies.

"… Well I already briefly told you about your sister, but I'll tell you everything now. Are you sure you're ready for this?It is quite a lot to take in…"

Katniss looks at the blonde, giving him a curt nod.

Peeta looks out of the cave entrance, as they are sitting right in the opening of the cave, and he stares at the woods for a while.

"Fine. Well then, I'll start with your mother and father. When your mother was a young lady, she met your father. She lived with her parents in town, helping in the apothecary shop. Your father lived in The Seam, the poorest part of our district. I'm not entirely sure how they met, but I know when they got married, she left everything and went to live with your father in The Seam. Your father worked in the mines, as almost every Seam kid does when he reaches the age of 18."

Peeta pauses, glances up at Katniss, who's seemingly hanging on every word.

"Go on…" She presses him.

"They conceived you, a baby girl with stormy grey eyes and dark brown hair, the spitting image of your father. Your sister, Primrose, was born four years later, taking the appearance of your mother: Bright blue eyes and blonde hair. Should I continue?"

"Please."

"Now, when we were 11 years old, we had a normal day of school one day, until we heard an alarm go off, signalling that there was in accident in the coal mines. Katniss, your father, he didn't make it out of the mines that day. Your father, he uh.. died that day."

Peeta quickly checks the condition of the girl, and sees that she looks extremely calm.

"Katniss? Are you alright?

"Yes."

"Katniss," Peeta moves closer to her, "He was a great man, he loved you very much."

"I remember him Peeta. I remember our time together."

"What! Did you just remember it now? Did what I just tell you help you remembering!?"

Katniss turns to the blonde, stares at him for a while and then a small smile appears on her face.

"I guess so" she answers him, staring into his magnificent blue eyes, "Peeta, are you from the town part of our district?"

The question surprises him bit, but he quickly nods.

"Your family runs the bakery." She recalls, "That explains the bread" Katniss whispers the word 'bread', as if she's almost ashamed about THAT memory.

"Correct! Katniss, there's one other person that's important in your life… His name is Gale Hawthorne. He's your best friend."

Just when the last sentence leaves his mouth, Peeta lets out a bloodcurdling scream, and when a startled Katniss runs her eyes over his now crippled form, she sees a knife lodged in his upper arm, blood streaming from it.

**A/N: Please please PLEASE review! Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Here's another chapter! If it's not too much to ask, please leave a review? Even a smiley face will work. Flames are welcome, because then I can see what I'm doing wrong! Thanks, and enjoyyy! :D **

**Oh and this first part of Haymitch takes place just before Katniss' accident ( I had to get him in somewhere!), and then resumes from where we left off! **

"You know, I haven't seen you bet on anyone yet! Are you planning to sponsor for at least one tribute? The Games are almost finished you know?!"

"Ah, yes, I am planning on sponsoring, even though it's even more expensive now… I feel that the tributes appreciate it even more then! Ha! I'm just waiting for the perfect moment."

"Now, what about helping one of the District 12 tributes? The star-crossed lovers!"

"They don't need anything at the moment! Your request is absurd!"

Haymitch eyes the screen for a moment, trying to think of something to say, which is surprisingly not like him at all. He always knows what to say! Well, most of the time anyway...

"Have you seen the boy's leg!?" He finally yells at the rich Capitol man.

"Yes, and?"

"He can barely walk…" he replies more calmly this time.

But when the alcoholic turns to look at the ridiculous man again, he's gone. Probably bothered by his outburst.

"Great, another opportunity gone," Haymitch mutters to himself, and leans back on the huge couch, eyeing the screen again, gulping down his drink.

The image then quickly changes scenes from poor Rue's still body to Katniss a little further away. And then he sees as Cato attacks Katniss, knocking her out cold.

"Aaaannd back to work I go," the drunk grumbles and stands up.

* * *

Katniss lets out a scream, scrambling back a bit. She was terrified, to say the least, shocked to no end. She takes a few moments to regain a little composure, which is kind of impossible...When she glances at the injured boy, she sees Peeta has already lost a fair amount of blood. His life is now in the hands of a girl that barely remembers anything from her past. She tries to remember anything that she might have learnt during her childhood of healing or treating wounds, but nothing comes to mind, except that she should apply pressure to the wound if he is losing too much blood. She reaches out, grabbing him by his feet, slowly pulling him towards her. She doesn't want to go out in the open, for fear of the attacker trying to injure, or even worse, to kill her also. Thus if she can't go to him, he has to come to her. When he is finally more or less in front of her, and he seems to be conscious, she asks him a question, but he doesn't respond, he only moves his hand slightly towards her. She grabs his big, somewhat dirty hand and squeezes it, trying to reassure him that he, they, are going to be alright. It then dawns on her that she has to actually attempt to help him in order for him to have any luck of living. And finally, she spots the ghastly knife still lodged in the blonde's upper arm.

"I can do this," she motivates herself, whispering the words. She obviously then begins her task, with closed eyes, by pulling the weapon out of Peeta's arm.

Just then, Peeta starts letting out moans, grunts and sighs of pain and discomfor. Katniss starts to speak to him softly, muttering what she supposes is words of comfort. While doing so, she manages to rip off a seemly clean part of clothing, and presses it against the fatal wound, trying to slow the bloodflow.

"Ka… Katn…" Peeta starts to stutter.

"Don't speak, just keep your eyes open, focus on breathing and STAY ALIVE." Katniss says firmly, even though she isn't even completely sure what she's doing.

Fortunately the pressure seems to slow the bloodflow, and Katniss takes that as a very good sign. Only thing is, she didn't know what to do next. Peeta, who has at some point opened his eyes, sees her starting to panic again, softly says: "Stitch… Close wound…"

"I said no talking!" she exclaims, but nods as well, "What am I supposed to use as a needle and… What is THAT!"

Katniss runs towards the strange, unknown object that just dropped outside the cave. She picks it up, a package of sorts, and opens it.

"Peeta! You're going to be just fine! A package, or parachute, just provided us with medical supplies for your arm, and we can use it to treat your bad leg too!" Katniss yells, new hope filling her soul.

"I guess I do remember something from my childhood, considering what I just did..." Katniss says, a little lost in thought, relief filling her whole being.

But when she turns to look at Peeta again, the hope vanishes as quickly as it came, for she is only greeted by a bloody, empty space where the boy was merely seconds ago.. And a scream is heard from the distance…

"How lovely… First thrown with a knife and then kidnapped to probably be put through torture and near death… Peeta's day is just going wonderfully!" Katniss remarks to herself, rather loudly, even though the situation just became more dire.

"May I be of assistance, Girl on Fire?"


	7. Chapter 7

She grabs her bow, lying by her feet, abandoned no more. Arrow pointed, ready to fire at the tall, dark-skinned boy named Thresh. How did he even sneak up without a single sound? Or maybe he did make an orchestra of noises, but her shock of her missing district partner let all senses shut off for a moment. The girl's bad luck never seems to end. Her only hope, her only thing to cling onto reality, may possibly be on the verge of death. He shows her, her past. Without him, she doesn't have anything. Not even a memory.

"Who are you?" she queries, although he seems vaguely familiar. "Umm... Thresh, District Eleven?" he answers, a bit confused by the question. But of course he was to be confused; he hadn't witness the events of the past few days. "Why are you here? I need no help," "You seem a bit frazzled," "I know, but I need no consolation, either,"

"Well, let me at least tell you where they dragged Peeta. That's his name right? I was following Cato and Clove around. Waiting for the perfect moment to avenge Rue, she is my-… " Okay, maybe a-not-so-gentle giant. "Avenge Rue?" she cuts in. "After they killed her, Katniss," he casts his eye down, mourning silently for a second. Until he hears a sharp intake of breath and the sound surprises him. She must know this, shouldn't she? Wasn't she the one that placed the flowers so delicately on sweet Rue's still body? He takes a step closer, her bow now once again lonely on the floor. "Katniss?"

"I remember." she mutters quietly to herself. The smile of innocent little Rue will always be imprinted in her mind, no matter how many blows to the head she gets. "I'm okay. You said you know where Peeta is?" she says, back to the problem at hand, but she mentally tells herself to cry for Rue later. But then a small, stern voice in the back of her mind reminds her: "Show. No. weakness."

* * *

No. This can't be happening. This seriously can't be happening.

"Are you enjoying this Bread Boy? Mmm I think you are," comes Clove's irritating little voice.

"You know, Clove, when you speak, it sounds like you constantly press your nose shut or something. Or you really just have **_serious_** nasal problems. You should let that get checked out sometime." Peeta smirks, despite the new pain in his left hand. "What ARE you doing, anyway?"

"Making sure your life ends **_slowly _**and**_ painfully." _**Peeta smirk disappears quickly, trying not to wince at the constant pain. They're torturing him, using they're knives and swords to cut small, but deep wounds on his arms.

**_Flump. Flump. _**

The piercing pain stops. Peeta looks up, and sees Cato and Clove unconscious on the ground in front of him.

But how…? "Nice aim Katniss!" comes a deep voice, somewhere from the forest.

"Meh,"

She emerges from the foliage, along with Thresh. "Peeta! Look at you!" He's still took shocked from the sudden rescue, he can't say anything. They untie him from the tree he was held as prisoner against, and then Katniss immediately grabs his arms, inspecting the bleeding wounds. "You're losing lots of blood. And fast." And then she remembers the package that fell, just before my torture induced half an hour. It was full of all kinds of first-aid things! She hopes its enough…

Thresh clears his throat, very unsure of what to do now. "So, uh, I'm glad I could, uh, help," he starts retreating slowly. "May the odds be in you favour, I guess" he shrugs.

"Wait! Thresh… "Peeta slowly saunters up to him, "thanks man," and envelopes him in a man hug.

**Hi guys! Sorry for a long wait, and for a short chapter! ^^, thanks for all the reviews! Is this story a bit too fast paced? I'm not really sure… **

**Xx -R**


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